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Parts of a Castle
Parts of a Castle *Allure or Wall-walk: passage behind the parapet of a castle wall *Apse: circular or polygonal end of a tower or chapel *Arcading: rows of arches supported on columns, free-standing or attached to a wall (blind arcade) *Arrow Loop: A narrow vertical slit cut into a wall through which arrows could be fired from inside *Ashlar: blocks of smooth, squared stone of any kind *Bailey or Ward: courtyard within the walls of the castle *Ballista: engine resembling a crossbow, used in hurling missiles or large arrows *Barbican: an outwork or forward extension of a castle gateway *Barrel vault: semicircular roof of stone & timber *Bartizan: overhanging corner turret *Bastion: a small tower at the end of a curtain wall or in the middle of the outside wall *Battlement: a narrow wall built along the outer edge of the wall walk to protect soldiers against attack *Belfry: tall, movable wooden tower on wheels, used in sieges *Brattice: (see hoarding) *Buttery: room for the service of beverages *Concentric: having two sets of walls, one inside the other *Crenelation: a notched battlement made up of alternate crenels (openings) and merlons (square sawteeth) *Cross-wall: an internal dividing wall in a great tower *Curtain wall: a castle wall enclosing a courtyard *Cut: assault tower *Corbel: stone bracket projecting from a wall or corner to support a beam *Donjon: the inner stronghold (keep) of a castle *Drawbridge: a wooden bridge leading to a gateway, capable of being raised or lowered *Drum Tower: a round tower built into a wall *Dungeon: the jail, usually found in one of the towers *Enceinte: an enclosing wall, usually exterior, of a fortified place *Embrasure: the low segment of the altering high and low segments of a battlement *Escalade: scaling of a castle wall *Finial: a slender piece of stone used to decorate the tops of the merlons *Forebuilding: a projection in front of a keep or donjon, containing the stairs to the main entrance *Garderobe: latrine *Gate House: the complex of towers, bridges, and barriers built to protect each entrance through a castle or town wall *Hall: principal living quarters of a medieval castle or house *Hoarding: covered wooden gallery affixed to the top of the outside of a tower or curtain to defend the castle *Inner Ward or Inner Bailey: open area in the center of a castle *Keep: the inner stronghold of the castle *Loophole: slit in wall for light, air, or shooting through *Machicolation: a projection in the battlements of a wall with openings through which missiles could be dropped on besiegers *Mangonel: stone:throwing machine worked by torsion, used as a siege weapon against castles *Merlon: part of a battlement, the square "sawtooth" between crenels *Meurtriere: arrow loop, slit in battlement or wall to permit firing of arrows or for observation *Moat: a deep trench usually filled with water that surrounded a castle *Motte: an earthwork mound on which a castle was built *Murder Holes: a section between the main gate and a inner portcullis where arrows, rocks, and hot oil could be dropped from the roof though holes *Oilette: a round opening at the base of a loophole *Oriel or Oriel Window: projecting room on an upper floor, later an upper-floor bay window *Oubliette: a dungeon reached by a trap door *Palisade: a sturdy wooden fence built to enclose a site until a permanent stone wall could be constructed *Parapet: protective wall at the top of a fortification, around the outer side of the wall-walk *Portcullis: vertical sliding wooden grille shod with iron suspended in front of a gateway designed to protect the gate *Postern Gate: a secondary gate or door often located at the rear of the castle. *Putlog Hole: a hole intentionally left in the surface of a wall for insertion of a horizontal pole *Ram: battering ram *Revet: face with a layer of stone, stone slabs etc., for more strength. Some earth mottes were revetted with stone. *Sapping: undermining, as of a castle wall *Screens: wooden partition at the kitchen end of a hall, protecting a passage leading to the buttery, pantry, and kitchen *Solar: originally a room above ground level, but commonly applied to the great chamber or a private sitting room off the great hall *Springald: war engine of the catapult type, employing tension *Trebuchet: war engine developed in the Middle Ages employing counterpoise *Turning Bridge: a drawbridge that pivoted in the middle *Turret: a small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually used as a look out point *Wall Walk: the area along the tops of the walls from which soldiers could defend the castle *Ward: courtyard or bailey * Category:Resources